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C. Lee McKenzie

Young Adult and Middle Grade Author

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#atozchallenge: E is for Etymology & April IWSG

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Here’s to a great AtoZ!

Join in the FUN.

This year I traveled to Cuba. You know, it’s that little island that’s spitting distance from Florida and should not be visited without special dispensation. I wanted to see it before MacDonald’s arrived. I’m so glad I did. I learned a lot and I met some wonderful people. It seems they like us. Now there’s a change!

I’ll add a short T/F quiz to each post the same as I did last year about Burma, and I’ll post the answers to the questions the following day. 

Answers to your T/F Quiz for D:


FALSE 1.Canada and Mexico do not have similar immigration agreements with the U.S. as does Cuba. As you can imagine this has caused some hard feelings. They ask, “If Cubans can set foot on U.S. soil and stay, why can’t Canadians and Mexicans?”

TRUE 2. There are about 1 million immigrants from Cuba in the U.S. today. In 2013, the number was 1,144,000.

E is for Etymology

Look at those clothes. Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Talk about cultural clash.

It’s always interesting to know where names come from. The answer to where did Cuba get its name isn’t that straightforward. Some linguists say it came from the Taino indigenous word Cubanacan meaning “where fertile land is abundant” cubao or “great place” coabana. 

When Christopher Columbus landed in Cuba he christened it “Juana,” in honor of Prince Don Juan, son of Queen Isabella. That didn’t stick, but the indigenous one did. Score one for the natives.

Your T/F Quiz for E:

1. It’s now believed that all native indians are extinct in Cuba.
2. Cuba population is largely a mixture of Spanish and African.
Answers tomorrow.

 If ever there was a time this group was needed it’s April. 

  • Will I make it through an entire month of blogging daily? 
  • Will I screw up my posts? 
  • Will anyone care about my theme? 

Talk about insecurity. April has them all in a neat bundle, so whether you’re part of this brilliant insanity or just dropping in to see if I’m holding up, lend your support here before going on to give other A to Zers some love.

Comments

  2. This is interesting and I bet the people all decked out in their finery were aghast at the natives…and vice versa!

  3. "If ever there was a time this group was needed it's April." Haha! Isn't that true? I'm glad I didn't join the Challenge this year. After last year I felt like I needed a whole year to recuperate.

  4. Will you make it through an entire month of blogging daily? Yes, with the help of our twitter parties, you WILL make it!
    Will you screw up your posts? No!
    Will anyone care about your theme? It will be their loss if they don't care…it's a wonderful theme!
    Writer In Transit

  10. You'll make it through and end up rocking the Challenge!! And your theme is excellent. So interesting to learn about the name Cuba. I'm glad the natives won that round.

  14. I'm jealous of your travels. I'll have to check in tomorrow for the quiz answers.

    You'll be great blogging daily. Good luck from an A to Z bystander.

  17. You have my support, Lee. I don't know how you keep up with everything you do. You do a marvelous job however. I'm struggling now. Think I'll take a nap. Great topic for IWSG and for Cuba. It is interesting where names come from. Relax. Rest awhile.

  22. Guessing "false" on the first question and "true" on the second. Loved your line about getting to Cuba before McDonald's! ☺ Canadians love this economical vacation destination.

  29. I promised I did not look at your answers before I wrote my comment to D. Now here is E.
    I don't think all the native Indians are extinct. At least I hope not.
    I do believe that there is a population of African/Spanish mixture but I don't believe that is the majority.
    Shalom,
    Patricia @ EverythingMustChange

  30. I'm feeling the pressure today and it doesn't help when the Internet has been behaving badly! I'm off to bed early in the hope tomorrow will be a better day 🙂

  32. I love your theme if that helps. 🙂 And YaY! An indigenous victory for a change.

    Thanks for your comment on my blog. It made my day. Glad you liked my post!

  35. Brilliant Insanity! Love that! Yes, score one for the natives!

    Your theme is brilliant, stole your word, LOL. Truly, it's history and who doesn't enjoy learning? You've done a beautiful job of posting just the right length too! Perfection!

    My guess is false! Love the quiz! Nice touch!

  38. Yeah! The second time I've gotten both answers right! I love that Cuba retained its native name. I'm going with True on #1 because I believe there are still pockets of Arawak/Carib/Taino Indians in places like Santa Domingo, so why not Cuba? And I saying a definite TRUE on #2, it the same mix as the Puerto Ricans.

    Remember to breathe.

  41. I'm going to chance false on the first question (hopefully) and true for the second. At least the indigenous natives still live on via the name.

  42. Hi Lee – love the etymology bit … I include snippets quite often or even go and check things out …

    I hope the Native Indians have not all gone … but their lives in any part of the world are not easy or thought about too much – it is getting better … cheers Hilary

  45. I have no idea of the first question, but I will guess it is true. As for the second one, I think it is true.